by Lee Savino
“How long?” Wulfgar asked.
“Til the full moon after next.” The Berserker strength would keep Maddox alive longer than a man. “By the Thing gathering, he should starve.”
“We can fill the hole with earth, leave it as his grave,” Fergus said. “Isn’t it lucky we had the pit deep enough to hold a Berserker?”
“Not luck.” Wulfgar snorted. “We dug that hole as soon as we laid claim to the mountain.”
“For intruders?” Fergus asked.
“No,” I spoke up. “We built it to hold Samuel.”
*
Time seemed to speed up closer to the full moon. As promised, I went on a raid with a few warriors and returned with three trunkfuls of fine things for Brenna. In addition to her silver torc, I put a ruby pendant around her neck, and silver rings around her wrists. She could barely move without the metal clinking in sweet song. She preferred the gowns to the jewelry. Samuel and I liked her naked best, but for her torc.
As the moon swelled in the sky, Brenna’s ardor seemed to increase to match ours. The prisoner in the pit, Samuel’s fight with the beast, and even the rest of the pack faded in the face of our lust.
Even Samuel showed reluctance to leave our chambers, though he’d been adamant we must continue to bring Brenna before the pack, to train her as our consort. If she was to stay with us long term, she must grow used to being around the wolves, and them to her.
One day, I returned from the hunt and entered our chambers in wolf form. Samuel rose from the dais, where he’d been reading one of his precious books to our beloved.
I started to climb up beside them, when Brenna waved her hands, wrinkling her nose.
“You stink,” Samuel explained.
Sitting back on my haunches, I gave them both a mournful look.
“She’ll pout all day if I let you up here. Or worse, send us off and wear herself out washing the pelts. Never known a woman so obsessed with keeping clean.”
Brenna crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at us both.
Samuel grinned, enjoying himself. Secretly we were pleased that our woman had grown used to our wolf forms. The first time she’d seen us take the wolf’s shape, she’d tried to leap off the mountain.
My tongue lolling out of my mouth, I put my paw on the bed and gave my best doggy smile.
Brenna came off the dais to shoo me. Holding one hand against her nose, she pointed to the door with the other.
“That’s it, little love,” Samuel chuckled as he went back to his book. “Don’t let him back until you’ve given him a good scrubbing.”
I flashed a vicious set of teeth in Samuel’s direction before following Brenna out of the room.
She took me to the bathing cavern, gathering up her dress when I playfully snapped at her ankles. As always she remained poised and graceful, laying out soap and a washing cloth, along with a longer robe to dry my body. I romped in the water, pretending to ignore her. She sat near the edge of the pool, waiting for me.
When I swam close to her and barked an invitation, she shook her head. I didn’t blame her. She preferred washing a man to a giant, furry animal who tried to lick her face and eat the soap.
That didn’t mean I wouldn’t have a little fun.
I waited until she wasn’t looking at me, then bounded from the pool. Brenna put up her hands in meager defense as I shook water all over her.
She fought back a smile as she shook her finger at me in mock fury. Before I could shift into a man and carry her into the water, she shot to her feet and fled.
Always up for a good chase, I ran after her into the hall. She glanced back, pure mirth on her face, and ran right into Siebold’s arms.
Immediately she jerked back but the blond warrior already had her held tight. I rushed up, snarling, and Siebold released her to face me. His weapon swung up.
“Stop, wolf, or I’ll gut you.”
Siebold’s head snapped to the side when Brenna punched him. He stared at her in disbelief and she glared back, almost falling when I pushed her aside. My wolf snarled even as I felt my gut churn. If I were in human form, I’d warn her to look down or away. The challenge shone clearly in her eyes and Siebold, bully that he was, stepped forward to meet it.
Samuel, I called, desperate.
“Siebold,” the Alpha roared, and everyone’s head bowed to avoid his rage.
Siebold inched back towards the mouth of the cave.
“She met my eyes.” Siebold snarled. “She needs to be punished.”
I pushed Brenna towards the chamber with my wolf form. She buried her hands in my wet pelt to keep from falling. We left the Alpha to deal with the warrior.
As soon as we entered the chamber, I shifted.
“Brenna, what did ye think ye were doing? Attacking a warrior in his prime?” Fear made me angry. The sight of her striking Siebold, a warrior a half foot taller and broader than her, made me sick with worry. “Ye know the rules of the pack—ye cannae fight for dominance. Ye see a warrior, ye tuck tail and run. Stay behind me.”
I advanced on her and she backed up towards the dais. “Worse, ye know that Samuel is close to breaking. Now he has to calm the worst bully of the pack. He’ll demand ye be punished, Brenna. And we’ll have to do it, or risk letting loose the beast.”
Reaching out, I gripped her around the neck, halting her retreat. Just touching her calmed me. I thumbed her cheek gently. “I ken Siebold is a bully. But no good comes from attacking him. And I can take care of myself. You can trust me to defend you.”
She nodded and I released her.
I linked to Samuel. What’s the damage?
Stone silence from the Alpha. Whatever was going on with Siebold required his full attention.
That only put me on edge.
Brenna laid a hand over my bare chest, worry crossing her face.
“Ye broke the rules, Brenna. I fear ye must be punished.”
At the quiet acceptance in her face, my anger broke and bled away. I wanted to spank and punish her but now wasn’t the time. She needed to feel safe.
I pulled her into my arms.
“I’m sorry, lass. I will keep my temper. I worry over Samuel, ye ken?”
She nodded.
“Stupid bully. Siebold needs a good thrashing. I’d be glad to have ye hit him, if it didn’t mean danger. It’ll be all right. Samuel will deal with him, and we’ll spank ye and it’ll be over.”
She relaxed against my chest, and I felt grateful that she wasn’t afraid of our discipline. Indeed, from the scent of her heat after we turned her bottom red, she rather enjoyed it. And we always made sure it ended well for her.
I sighed. “I apologize for shouting at ye. What a day.”
She squeezed me tighter and I toyed with her hair, remembering shaking water all over her. “We were having fun though, weren’t we?”
She hid a grin against my chest.
I reached out to Samuel and heard nothing. Probably a bad sign.
When I looked down, Brenna was studying me.
“Are ye hungry?”
She shook her head. Stepping away from me, she pulled off her dress, then went to the dais and knelt with her bottom pointed at me.
My cock hardened. I went to her and laid a hand on her back. “Ye want this? Ye want me to spank ye?”
She shrugged then, eyes lowered, she nodded.
“You feel contrite for what ye did to poor Siebold?” I teased, and got a disgusted look. I chuckled. “I jest, but it’s not funny. Siebold’s a mean beast. He’ll want retribution. So it’s up to me to take it out on yer arse.”
Lowering her front to the furs, Brenna waved her behind at me. I gave it a sharp slap.
“Do ye like yer punishment so much that ye ask for it?” My fingers sought her folds and slid against the spots that gave her the most pleasure. I waited until her body rocked, fucking my fingers before I took them away, and smacked her again. “That’s it, lass, ye need a firm hand to settle ye, and then give ye pleasure.” I
continued, alternating spanking and touching her, enjoying the jiggle of her creamy flesh when I spanked her and the little gasps and pants as I stroked her.
“Do ye like this, Brenna?”
She buried her face in the furs. I stopped and pulled her head back by her hair. It was flushed a pretty shade of pink.
“Get up.” I tugged her hair until she came to stand before me, quivering with need. I chucked her under the chin. “I don’t think this is truly punishment for ye, is it?”
She shook her head, a small curve to her lips.
“You want a spanking, you need to beg me for it. Show me you want to please me, wee one.”
Her hand went to my cock.
I nodded, heart leaping in glee, though I kept a somber face. “There’s a good lass.”
She knelt. At first she toyed with me, licking and kissing my shaft while her slender fingers cupped my sack.
After a minute, I gripped a fistful of her hair and jerked it so she met my eyes. “This is not time for ye to tease me. Ye are my woman. I will teach you to mind so ye are safe.”
Wide-eyed, she didn’t pull away. Instead she let me plunder her mouth, my cock sliding in and out with forceful thrusts.
My hand gripped her hair harder and she moaned, sending delicious vibrations through me.
“Brenna,” I gasped. She would know I was undone. She could bring me to my knees as easily as I could order her to hers.
I pulled out of her mouth just as my cum erupted from my cock, painting her face and chest with spurts. She closed her eyes and tilted her head up, accepting my seed.
“Oh love. Ye have earned yer spanking, and yer reward.”
*
Samuel found us twined together. I’d spanked and finger fucked her until her arse was berry red, and her cunt lips were plump and ripe for the touch. I slid my finger into her arsehole before I made her cum. Then I bound her arms behind her, lay on my back and made her bounce up and down on my cock, slapping her breasts until they were pink. Her cunny clenched with each playful slap. By the time Samuel walked in, she’d cum a dozen times, and I’d cum twice. I cradled her in my arms while she dozed, kissing her breasts to soothe them from the hurt I’d caused. Brenna slept with a smile on her face.
The scent of our lovemaking hung thick in the air. Samuel walked in and sighed.
“I see you found a way to keep busy while I was gone.”
I swirled my tongue around one of Brenna’s cherry tipped nipples. “Aye. Thought it best to see to her, in case Siebold demands retribution, and the pack backs him.” I nodded to Brenna’s red arse.
“I’m afraid it won’t be that easy.” Samuel seated himself on the dais, stroking one of Brenna’s smooth legs as he spoke. “Siebold is furious. He wants to make a public example.”
I lifted my head. “That’s not for him to decide. She is ours. We discipline her where we please.”
“If Brenna did what Siebold claims she did, I think it’s a good idea.
I snarled. Brenna jerked awake, and I laid a hand on her cheek, pressing her to my chest until her eyes fluttered closed again.
“What happened in the hallway?” Samuel asked. “Show me.”
I sent the impression of my memories through our shared link.
Samuel groaned when he realized how Brenna had challenged the bigger warrior. “I’d hoped Siebold was lying.”
“What was Siebold doing in our part of the cave?”
“He came to give news of the patrol. He heard splashing and thought I was there.”
I huffed my disbelief. “He was lurking, trying to start a fight.”
“Even if he was, Brenna made it worse by her actions.”
“She was defending me.”
“Aye, and you can defend yourself. If she’d backed down, you’d have gotten between her and Siebold, called for me or shifted to order him to leave. And that would be the end of it. Right now he’s telling the whole pack how the woman challenged him.”
“He wants the pack to agree with him, and force our hand. He wants her punished publicly, like one of the pack.” I shook my head in disgust at the bully’s actions.
“And she should be. If a female wolf behaved as she did, you’d drag her to the bonfire and spank her in front of everyone. And then continue the lesson in private.”
“Brenna isnae a wolf.”
“No, but we want her to take her place in the pack. She’s either ours, or not.”
I paused for a moment to listen to my wolf, but it remained silent. Challenges and fights for rivalry were how a wolf found its place in the pack. Formal punishment was the way the pack protected the weak from the stronger, a way of limiting the plays for dominance that could so easily leave wolves crippled. A pack member who was so obviously weaker—like Brenna—could submit to public punishment as a way to placate the need for a show of submission.
As long as the lesson did no lasting damage to our beloved, the wolf wouldn’t protest. The pack would, though, if we didn’t make an example of her for challenging Siebold. If we refused, they might demand that Siebold be the one to beat her.
My wolf growled at that. No one touches our mate but us.
Not our mate, I reminded the wolf. Brenna shifted in my arms and I forgot my argument. Liquid brown eyes held mine. I had a feeling she’d been faking sleep all this time, to have us speak plainly.
Tipping her back, I held her gaze. “Do ye ken what ye did to Siebold, and why ye must answer for it?”
She gulped and nodded.
“I appreciate ye trying to defend me, lass, but ye could’ve been killed, standing yer ground with a wolf like that. You’re only dominant if you’re strong enough to back it. If Siebold had gotten ye alone--”
I clasped her closer, shuddering at what the sadistic warrior would do to prove his dominance. “A public punishment may be for the best.”
Samuel leaned closer and caught Brenna’s chin. “You will be punished, and then it is over. The pack will see you submit to us, and to the pack structure. It will help them accept you.”
Flushing, Brenna looked down.
“Ye live with us, ye lives by our rules. The sooner ye learn, the easier life will be.”
*
The day of Brenna’s punishment dawned with me between her legs, teasing her plump folds until their honey coated my fingers. I lapped it up, bringing her to the brink of arousal again and again, but never letting her go over. The pleasure flooding her senses would make the pain easier to bear.
Samuel entered the room. “It is time.”
When we stepped out of the cave, the whole pack had assembled to watch. Almost forty wolves sat in the clearing, lounging against the rocks or crouching near the fire. Those in warrior form held weapons. No one took their eyes off our woman.
“Come, Brenna,” I ordered. Our beloved hesitated at the mouth of the cave, but then stepped boldly into the clearing. She wore a simple white shift and her silver torc. Her hair was braided and her feet were bare.
The wolves stared at her, eyes shining gold and predatory in the morning light. Her head started to drift up to face her audience. I quickly shoved it down. “Eyes.”
I heard a frustrated huff of breath before she obeyed.
We’d walked halfway across the clearing before Siebold stepped in our path.
“Do you see her insolence? Your woman is unruly. She does not know her place in the pack.” The Viking faced Samuel, who sat on the far side of the clearing on the great stone he used as a throne. “An Alpha who cannot control one woman is weak.”
Samuel stood and stretched, rolling his neck and cracking bone. His muscles worked in his shoulders. He finished by tossing his gold mane back. He looked anything but weak. He ignored the belligerent warrior. Every word, every movement we’d crafted like a ritual, a dance. A display of Samuel’s power.
“Is this true, Daegan? Did our woman challenge Siebold for dominance? Even though she is weaker than him, and wouldn’t survive a fair fight?”
; “She looked him in the eye, Alpha, and struck him.” I smirked a little. Siebold couldn’t be proud of taking a blow from such a slight adversary. Sure enough he flushed, and snapped his teeth in annoyance.
“She challenged me. Let her fight, or submit to formal punishment.”
Samuel beckoned, and Siebold stepped aside. I brought Brenna to the Alpha’s side. He wound her braid around his wrist, leashing her. “Poor little love, weakest in the pack.”
“She knew the rules,” Siebold muttered. “She stepped out of line.”
“Perhaps. Or perhaps she knew we protected her.” Samuel stared the Viking down. “To challenge her is to challenge us.”
“That’s right, Siebold,” I taunted. “Do ye want to go in the pit and fight him?”
“If you win you would be Alpha.” Samuel had planned this beforehand. If Siebold was making a play for dominance over him, he wanted to know. We would make Siebold admit it.
For a few tense seconds it seemed Siebold would challenge for Alpha. But the bully backed down. “I do not wish to be Alpha,” he sneered. The whole pack could smell the lie in his scent. “But rules are rules. If you cannot control your woman and tame her, perhaps you should give her to me.”
Samuel’s roar cut off my snarl. “Think carefully before you challenge for our woman. To become Alpha, you need only challenge me. To take her, you have to defeat both Daegan and me.”
“And me,” Wulfgar added, and Fergus echoed the same sentiment. The little wolf wasn’t dominant to Siebold, but he’d made it clear that he would fight for our woman all the same.
“Stand down, Viking,” Wulfgar ordered.
Siebold’s gaze sank to the ground, and for a moment I thought Samuel’s plan had worked. We’d placated the stupid warrior. A quick punishment for our woman, and all would be well.
I should’ve known better. As Siebold slunk away, he said, “Next time we deliver meat to her sisters, I will sample one of them.”
Brenna’s head snapped up and she flew at the Viking before Samuel or I could stop her.
“Brenna,” my voice cracked across the clearing, but it was too late She snatched up a stick, a thick tree branch that lay near the bonfire for kindling, and went after Siebold.